Team Communication Updated 2026

Best Discord Alternatives
in 2026

We tested and compared 7+ alternatives to Discord. Whether you need something cheaper, more feature-rich, or just different — we have you covered.

✓ 7 free alternatives
✓ Real pricing & ratings
You're comparing
Discord

Your place to talk

Pricing Freemium • Free tier
G2 Rating
4.5
Founded 2015
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Discord vs Top Alternatives — Quick Comparison

See how Discord stacks up against its top alternatives at a glance.

Feature Discord Slack Microsoft Teams Mattermost
Starting Price Free tier Free tier Free tier Free tier
Pricing Model
Freemium
Freemium
Freemium
Freemium
G2 Rating
4.5
4.5
4.3
4.3
Founded 2015 2013 2017 2015
Voice Channels
Text Channels
Video
Bots
Integrations
Stage Channels
Forum Channels
Channels
Direct Messages
File Sharing
Search
Huddles
Visit Website Visit site Visit site Visit site Visit site

* Pricing shown per user/month. Ratings from G2. Data updated 2026.

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All Discord Alternatives (7)

Detailed breakdown of every alternative to Discord, with pros, cons, pricing, and features.

S

Where work happens

Freemium • Free tier
4.5 G2

Team messaging and collaboration platform with channels, direct messages, and thousands of integrations.

Pros

  • Best-in-class integrations ecosystem
  • Intuitive and polished interface
  • Powerful search across history
  • Excellent mobile apps

Cons

  • Expensive at scale ($7.25+/user/month)
  • Free tier limits message history to 90 days
  • Can be distracting with notification overload
  • No built-in video conferencing
Channels Direct Messages File Sharing Integrations Search Huddles Canvas Workflow Builder
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MT

Meet, chat, call, and collaborate in one place

Freemium • Free tier
4.3 G2

Microsoft's unified communication platform integrated with Office 365, offering chat, video meetings, and collaboration.

Pros

  • Deep Microsoft 365 integration
  • Free for personal use
  • Built-in video conferencing
  • Large enterprise feature set

Cons

  • Complex and sometimes confusing UI
  • Slow performance on older hardware
  • Requires Microsoft account
  • Less intuitive than Slack
Channels Video Meetings File Sharing Office Integration Teams Live Captions Breakout Rooms
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M

Open source messaging for teams

Freemium • Free tier
4.3 G2

Open-source, self-hostable team messaging platform with enterprise-grade security and compliance features.

Pros

  • Self-hostable for full data control
  • Open source and transparent
  • Strong security and compliance
  • No vendor lock-in

Cons

  • Requires technical expertise to self-host
  • UI feels less polished than Slack
  • Smaller app marketplace
  • Setup complexity
Channels Direct Messages Self Hosting Compliance Integrations Mobile Apps Playbooks
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R

The ultimate free open source solution

Freemium • Free tier
4.2 G2

Open-source team communication platform with self-hosting options, omnichannel support, and extensive customization.

Pros

  • Completely free self-hosted version
  • Omnichannel customer support built-in
  • Active open-source community
  • Highly customizable

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires technical knowledge
  • Cloud version can be expensive
  • UI is less refined
  • Performance issues at scale
Channels Direct Messages Self Hosting Omnichannel Bots Live Chat Federation
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GC

Messaging for teams

Freemium • Free tier
4.2 G2

Google's team messaging platform tightly integrated with Google Workspace apps like Drive, Docs, and Meet.

Pros

  • Free with Google account
  • Seamless Google Workspace integration
  • Clean and simple interface
  • Smart Reply suggestions

Cons

  • Limited third-party integrations
  • Fewer features than Slack
  • No persistent message history on free tier
  • Less customizable
Spaces Direct Messages Google Drive Integration Meet Integration Bots Search
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F

Run your business faster

Freemium • Free tier
4.4 G2

Team messaging and collaboration tool with built-in productivity features like to-dos, polls, and reminders.

Pros

  • Built-in productivity tools
  • Affordable pricing
  • Clean interface
  • Good mobile apps

Cons

  • Smaller user base than Slack
  • Fewer integrations
  • Less feature-rich for enterprise
  • Limited free tier
Channels Direct Messages To Dos Polls Reminders Note Sharing Integrations
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C

Simple team chat

Freemium • Free tier
4.5 G2

Simple and affordable team messaging app with built-in task management and unlimited message history on free plan.

Pros

  • Unlimited message history on free plan
  • Built-in task management
  • Very affordable paid plans
  • Simple and clean UI

Cons

  • Limited to 10 members on free plan
  • Fewer integrations than Slack
  • Less mature product
  • Limited video features
Channels Direct Messages Task Management Unlimited History Voice Messages Integrations
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to Discord?

The best free alternatives to Discord include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Mattermost. These all offer free plans with core features.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Discord?

Discord is competitively priced. Check out our comparison table above for pricing details on all alternatives.

Why switch from Discord?

Common reasons to look for Discord alternatives include: pricing concerns as your team scales, needing specific features that Discord doesn't offer, wanting better integrations with your existing stack, or preferring an open-source or self-hosted solution.